Ails – The Unraveling (Review)

Featuring two members of the mighty Ludicra, Ails have produced 41 minutes of melodic depth and blackened substance.

The Unraveling consists of melodic and atmospheric black metal, tempered with some additional, diverse influences, making for a very impressive and accomplished debut album.

These songs are well-written and show a firm appreciation for dynamics, pacing, and affecting delivery. The melodic side of the band is a near-constant companion, but never in a stifling, I’m-fed-up-of-this-now, kind of way that I find can happen with some melodically-focused bands.

The music is played with passion and aggression, while also paying attention to nuance and subtlety where it needs to. It’s an interesting mix of influences, with black, doom, avant-garde, thrash, and melodic death metal all getting a look in here and there. I also like that the epic and atmospheric influences are sometimes tempered with some good old-fashioned raw aggression. Add to all of this an array of blistering melodies and spicy riffs, and this is music that will hammer its way into your head and stay there for some considerable time.

The clean and sung vocals of the band’s two singers are both very well-delivered, and if you were ever a fan of Ludicra, then it’s great to hear them once more. The blackened screams are the main mode of delivery, but the emotive cleans are never too far away from the action.

This is an exemplar of how to craft forward-thinking and modern black metal that has a warm, emotive core, surrounded and protected by an aggressive demeanour. With the Unraveling Ails have produced a multifaceted and textured extreme metal release to be proud of.